Community engagement in a seaside town: evaluation of Good Grief Weston festival

Background: Festivals play an important role in improving death and grief literacy, enabling members of the public to engage with these often-sensitive topics. Good Grief Weston festival was co-designed and delivered with the community in Weston-super-Mare, a coastal town in South-West England with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage but rich community assets. It was held in person over 8 days in May 2023. Objectives: To evaluate the reach and impact of Good Grief Weston festival and gather data to inform future festivals. Design: Mixed methods evaluation (survey and focus groups). Methods: Online and paper surveys assessing participants’ characteristics and experiences were administrated during and after the festival. Survey participants who indicated their willingness to participate were invited to attend a focus group. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Data were collected by trained community co-researchers. Results: Approximately 3000 people attended the festival. Of 204 completed surveys, 64.5% were from women, age range ⩽15 to ⩾75 years; 88.2% identified as White; 14.9% deaf, disabled/with a chronic condition; 18.9% neurodivergent; 9.0% gay, bisexual or queer. Festival participants were entertained (70.9%), inspired (68.5%), felt part of a like-minded community (54.3%), talked to someone new (49.2%), learnt about grief/bereavement (34.3%), shared or expressed experiences (30.3%) and found out about local support (19.7%). 71.3% reported that they felt more confident talking about grief after attending. Median experience rating was 5 (IQR 0; possible range 1 = poor to 5 = excellent). In free-text comments, participants expressed appreciation for the festival and described benefits in attending. Two focus groups were conducted (n = 8 participants, all women), lasting c.1.5 h. Focus groups added rich descriptions of the festival’s value, and data to inform the next festival. Conclusion: Findings suggest festivals of this nature can play a central role in a public health approach.


Introduction
Almost all of us will experience the grief associated with bereavement, yet as a society, we often struggle to talk about it.In a recent survey, 60% of bereaved people in the United Kingdom reported that their community did not help them deal with their grief. 1Moreover, experiences of grief and bereavement are unequal.People living in the UK's most deprived areas are less likely to receive adequate care and support during serious illness or bereavement, 2 and are more likely to experience social isolation and lonelinesscommon consequences of serious illness, caregiving and bereavement and major outcome determinants. 3

Social deprivation and health in Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare (WsM) is a coastal town in South-West England.Although the region is relatively affluent, there is substantial wealth disparity; five Lower Layer Super Output Areas in WsM are in the most deprived 5% in England. 4 WsM has an ageing population, high levels of mental health and addiction problems, and pockets of worsening deprivation. 5The population has complex health needs, with 64% of people registered with a Weston Town General Practitioner (GP) reporting having a long-term health condition. 5n WsM, worse health is seen in older people, men, ethnic minority groups, lower social classes and people from the most socioeconomically deprived areas. 57][8] The health challenges in WsM are found in many coastal communities across the United Kingdom and have been identified as a priority area by the UK's Chief Medical Officer. 9eativity, community assets and their impact Evidence shows that creative and arts engagement can help reduce inequities and mitigate social isolation, including towards the end of life and bereavement. 10In sensitive domains like grief, creative, artistic and cultural initiatives can inform, support and empower people, helping them deal with distress and strengthening resilience. 10Festivals, in particular, can be effective ways of engaging and informing the public and improving death and grief 'literacy'. 11,12ngagement and education regarding end-oflife issues are crucial elements of the public health approach to palliative care, which emphasises universal access to palliative care through community ownership and the integration of evidence-based, cost-effective interventions at all levels of healthcare systems. 13In WsM there has been increasing community arts investment in recent years.However, resource limitations mean that the resulting initiatives have not yet been fully integrated with existing community assets or the health and social care system.Evaluation of cultural activities has been sporadic with few resources reflecting on lessons learnt. 14

Opportunities for change
The transition to Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) in England in 2022 encouraged stronger partnerships between health and social care services and the community.The new system mandates integration between local authorities, the National Health Service (NHS) and other partners, including voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sectors. 15The ICSs' enhanced partnership reflects the NHS National Palliative and End-of-Life Care Partnership's Ambitions, 16 emphasising the need for community partnerships, promoting compassionate communities, improving public awareness and implementing co-design approaches. 17In pursuit of these aims, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded us to establish a cross-sector community network in WsM (The WsM Community Network for Health Inequities) with the aim of working collaboratively to tackle inequities and mitigate social isolation relating to serious illness and bereavement.As part of our programme of work, we conducted and evaluated Good Grief Weston festival.

Good Grief Weston
Good Grief Weston was an in-person festival about grief and bereavement that took place 1-8 May 2023, with the aim of providing cultural experiences and education on the topics of end of life and grief. 18Culture Weston (now Super Culture) led the curation and delivery of the programme, drawing on 15 years' experience of co-producing inclusive cultural and creative events and activities with WsM communities.The festival programme was co-designed following principles of community engagement, participation and inclusion, working with a range of community organisations, cultural groups, charities and members of the public, and commissioning local artists and creatives working in WsM.The design process and programme were also informed by learning from Good Grief Festival, an online grief festival first held online in 2020. 12The programme offered a variety of activities to interest and engage people and The festival cost approximately £25,000 and the evaluation an additional £10,000, excluding academic staff time.
In recognition of the sensitive nature of festival events, 'listening posts' were provided, where attendees could seek emotional support from trained volunteers, many of whom were hospice volunteers.

Aim
The festival aimed to engage the WsM community on the topics of grief and bereavement and raise awareness of existing community assets that help reduce social isolation and inequities relating to end-of-life care and bereavement.The evaluation aimed to assess the festival's reach and impact to inform future initiatives to engage the public on the subject of grief and bereavement.

Study design
The study design was informed by the Public Health England evaluation framework. 19The evaluation methods were co-designed by the research team and community partners.Six local community co-researchers were recruited, trained and collected evaluation data (5 = female; 1 = male).Five were White British and one was mixed race (Korean/Norwegian/British); ages ranged from 31 to 72 years.All co-researchers attended festival events; two were also involved in delivering events (a community workshop and a discussion group).A half-day training session was designed (LES, OC, AM) and delivered (OC, AM) by the academic researchers covering questionnaire administration, obtaining consent, focus group facilitation, responding to participant distress, potential personal impact and the support available.
To offer different ways of providing feedback, we utilised three evaluation methods: a post-event survey (on paper and online); feedback cards; and focus groups.
Findings are reported using the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines, as this is a primarily qualitative project. 20ta collection: survey and feedback postcards.At the end of the festival, an optional online Survey-Monkey Inc.; San Mateo, California, USA; www.surveymonkey.com(Supplemental File 3) was emailed to event registrants.Survey configuration allowed one response per device.Demographic data was collected, including full postcodes in order to calculate Index of Multiple Deprivation Decile. 21Free-text boxes enabled respondents to provide feedback or suggest improvements.
During the festival, people who had not pre-registered for events were encouraged to complete the same survey by following a QR link displayed on posters.Paper copies were also available, with completion support provided by community coresearchers, if needed.
Postcard-sized feedback postcards (Supplemental File 4) were also distributed throughout the festival.These provided a participation method for people without access to a digital device (or unable to use one), who preferred not to participate in a written survey or who were under the age of 16.There was no payment for completing surveys or feedback cards.
Data collection: focus groups.Survey respondents were asked if they would be interested in participating in a focus group.Willing potential participants provided their contact details and were sent a participant information sheet and consent form via email.
Focus groups were held in person c.4 weeks after the festival and facilitated by four co-researchers (KL, LT, NT, PM) following a topic guide (Supplemental File 5) co-designed by the team based on the literature and prior evaluation. 12,22ocus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and pseudonymised prior to analysis.
Analysis.Quantitative analysis (survey data): Participant characteristics and quantitative data from online and paper surveys and feedback postcards were entered in Excel and summarised using descriptive statistics (JR, AB).Missing responses were excluded from statistical analysis.
Qualitative analysis: Focus group transcripts were subject to thematic analysis, incorporating deductive coding (focussed on specific evaluation questions) and inductive thematic analysis (to explore the data). 23Familiarisation involved line-by-line reading of each transcript, followed by independent generation of draft coding frameworks (JR, AM, LES) which were then discussed and refined to enhance trustworthiness.Data were coded (JR) according to the final coding framework using NVivo v12 (Lumivero [2017]), retaining the richness of individual participant's contributions. 24ta from paper surveys were entered into Excel (AB) and combined with online survey data prior to analysis.Free-text responses to survey questions (n = 130) and feedback postcards (n = 50) were coded thematically in NVivo v12 (JR).Seventeen images from feedback cards were categorised by type.Qualitative findings from all data sources were integrated into the narrative results.

Quantitative findings
Approximately 3000 people attended the festival with numbers varying between individual events.
A total of 130 survey respondents (63.7%), provided free-text comments about their experience and 99 (48.5%) offered suggestions to improve future festivals.
Awareness of the festival.Many focus group participants were motivated to attend the in-person festival following previous positive experiences of the online iteration. 12Some saw the festival as an opportunity for 'healing' (P3FG1) and to engage with unresolved grief.Participants were mostly from the WsM area and keen to support a local event: I actually couldn't believe it when I saw that the first live Good Grief events were going to be in [WsM] of all places!So I really, I wanted to attend the ones that I wanted to go to because of that and also just to support the fact that it was being done in Weston.(P7FG2) Some participants learnt about the festival through social media (Facebook and Instagram) or emailing lists (from prior Good Grief participation).People who didn't use social media relied on word of mouth or physical advertisements (e.g.flyers and posters in local cafes and hospices), though these went unnoticed by some.Similarly, advertising on local radio and newspapers went unrecognised by some participants who reflected that these platforms, and local TV, could widen their reach.Some suggested more decoration might help advertise the festival: 'Publicity not sufficient' (respondent 71) was a common theme for survey respondents, as was the suggestion to 'advertise more widely, "prime the pump" throughout the year, [and] link to other events/mourning' (respondent 66).Others felt the problem was more nuanced: 'I know there was loads of advertising but somehow it only reached some of the population -maybe those already in the loop -how to extend?' (respondent 98).
Perceptions of programme and format of events.Focus group participants felt that the programme was broad with 'something for everybody' (P5FG2) and similarly catered to their own interests.People were attracted to activities they knew would be enjoyable or provide a new experience: I was really excited when I saw [. ..] the range of activities that were on.I think the range of the programme it was almost all the things I love doing, right down to I've always wanted to be a synchronised swimmer, and yoga and lots of things.(P3FG1) Some were concerned that the programme could be overwhelming, but acknowledged that the breadth enabled attendees to focus on events of specific interest: I thought blimey that's a pretty full-on programme.
That could be really overwhelming for some people but then I thought not everybody's gonna go to all of it and they'll be drawn to whatever they're drawn to for whatever reason, but I was a little bit nervous thinking how much shall I go to, am I gonna get overwhelmed?(P8FG2) Pre-booking online was required for some events.This could present a barrier through digital exclusion or logistical challenge, especially for recently bereaved people: 'It puts me off a bit' (P5FG2).
In contrast, events where participants could 'turn up' were attractive as they removed these logistical barriers: Responses to events attended.Participants attended a broad range of events, said the festival was 'well-organised' (P5FG2) and run 'professionally' (P7FG2).They described events as 'welcoming', 'rich', 'a brilliant concept', 'wonderful, friendly, and a comfortable experience' (survey respondents).
Focus group participants described how events promoted creative expression and processing of grief.Some described feelings of liberation, and one person described therapeutic benefit of hosting an event: Several participants said that events made them feel unexpectedly emotional, even when they thought they were prepared.One person reflected that this might be due to the proximity of other bereaved people.Others expressed that feelings of loss were unexpectedly triggered: One participant felt this support could have been better promoted.Two participants suggested that it might be helpful to have more emotional support from trained and supervised staff available at the next festival; interestingly, both the participants expressing this view were therapists.
Finding balance and generating connections.Participants acknowledged the importance of a festival explicitly dealing with grief and bereavement but also valued events that were joyous and celebratory: You had to have a little bit of light with the dark.I went oh, [synchronised swimming] is a bit weird, why have they got that?And then I realised you couldn't go to all of those things being so heavy without the light things as well.(P8FG2) One participant expressed a desire for more events which celebrate life, and suggested that framing the festival this way might increase attendance: Shame [it wasn't called] 'Love, Loss and Celebrating Life' because I think some people were, not put off, but thought it would be too sad.(P2FG1) Some participants felt that it might be beneficial to offer opportunities to debrief with other attendees after emotionally challenging events.
Participants described the festival as facilitating connections and conversations between attendees, for example through sharing memories of loved ones, which in turn promoted a sense of belonging: It's been amazing to be part of this and to book other events during this week.It's nice to feel a sense of belonging with others who have also experienced grief.(Survey respondent 133) One focus group participant working in end-oflife care was surprised to learn about organisations they weren't aware of that would be beneficial to hospice service users.
Inclusivity and diversity.Participants felt that the festival was inclusive but identified ways to enhance future events, including initiatives which encourage more men and young people to attend.Focus group participants suggested high-profile male speakers, sport activities and 'Men's Sheds' events could further engage men. 25 The median overall experience rating for men (n = 65, 33%) was 5 (excellent), and most free-text responses were very positive.The focus group participants reported that male relatives had specific challenges expressing grief, and noted festival events that might engage them: It's funny actually 'cause my dad had some terrible losses in his life [. ..] but he had cats and it was when the cats died that was when he was able to grieve because somehow he couldn't talk or cry about the other losses.(P6FG2) He loves gardening.That's been the way that he's processed his grief.You know, the garden's become a real focus, and you had an allotment type session, didn't you, and there was that walk as well, [. ..]I think whoever organised it had really thought about different things.(P3FG1) Focus group participants reflected that the festival was predominantly attended by women.Some felt that the gender balance was 'gonna be the case' (P8FG2).One participant stated that her male partner was reluctant to attend events where he anticipated attendees to be mostly women: He was like 'oh, I'll go to the yoga ones'.The other ones he thought, as a man's point of view maybe, for him it was like 'oh, I don't think I'll go to the arts one [. ..] it will all be women [. ..]I don't think I'll go'.So, maybe just like a men's circle.(P2FG1) Some focus group participants felt that there could be more provision for children and young adults, suggesting including music, dance and gaming in future festivals.
One survey respondent requested more representation of faith groups and another referred to folk traditions.There was no explicit discussion of ethnic and cultural diversity in focus group conversations.
The median experience rating for neurodivergent people (n = 37, 18.9%) was 5 (excellent).Most free-text survey comments were positive.
Respondents had mixed experiences of event accessibility for disabled people, likely due to of event type and location.Several focus group participants remarked on good accessibility of events they attended, and the median experience rating was 5 (excellent) for survey respondents who were D/deaf and/or D/disabled (n = 29, 14.9%).Two survey respondents (with additional mobility needs) stated that they were unable to attend desired events due to lack of public transport, level access or space limitation at venues.Ensuring accessibility of event locations with more dedicated spaces to rest were suggested: Another participant reported that alcohol consumption at a minority of events might present a barrier to those with a history of substance use: My friend came to the door in the afternoon and she's alcoholic and she said 'I couldn't walk in 'cause the smell of alcohol was putting me off' and I did think this is really bad that people grieving who are alcoholics can't now enter the building.I didn't notice the smell of strong alcohol but I did notice a lot of people were drinking and I did think 'oh, that's gonna put a lot of people off from coming in'.(P8FG2) Feedback from survey respondents from the LGBTQ+ community (n = 17, 8.8%) were almost all positive, but one participant stated: Great concept.Some of the groups were not LGBTQI+ safe.One group, in particular, was felt to have been overly 'clicky' and therefore felt exclusive.(Survey respondent 187) Space as a mediator of participation.Participants appreciated that the festival used community assets such as community hubs, creating opportunities to explore parts of town not previously visited.Physical space was felt to be important in creating the right atmosphere for participation.Due to inclement weather, a planned event finale in a park had to be moved to a local café, which did not suit all participants.Some people reflected that events in confined spaces felt overwhelming: Open spaces were perceived as 'safer', allowing for peripheral participation.There was a desire for future events in local parks.Some participants commented that a 'festival hub' could act as a permanent fixture throughout the week, and be used after events to help people 'decompress': On one of the days someone might just think 'well, I don't really feel like going to any of these but I do feel like being around someone at the moment so I'll just sit in the park and chat to someone, or not even chat to anyone or just sit with a blanket, but there's something going on in the park.(P2FG1) Yeah.And actually, when I'm sat in the park I might then want to get involved.(P3FG1) If you knew there was something happening at the park, like food and music and stuff people might feel they can kind of gravitate towards there.(P1FG1) Most participants valued the in-person format because it facilitated greater participation and interaction.One participant highlighted the benefit of online events for those who were physically or emotionally unable to attend in-person.Others expressed appreciation for existing online Good Grief resources and previous online events, especially during lockdown 26 : [Good Grief Weston] was wonderful but I actually got a lot in lockdown from some of the online festival.(P6FG2)

Discussion
Approximately 3000 people attended Good Grief Weston.Overall, evaluation findings suggest that the festival successfully inspired, engaged and educated people on the topics of grief and bereavement, and benefitted this often-neglected coastal town by bolstering community pride and bringing people together.
The respondents were mainly women (64.5%), likely reflecting lower engagement by men with both the festival and the post-event survey.Similar patterns have been reported elsewhere 12,[27][28][29] and may reflect findings that during bereavement men tend to prioritise independence and express symptoms and emotions less than women. 30However, the gender balance is more equal than at the first online Good Grief Festival in 2020, where 90% of respondents to the postfestival survey were women. 12The focus group participants highlighted some of the ways in which their male relatives struggled to express emotions related to grief, but also noted that they were engaged by festival events.The combination of these findings indicates some success in efforts to increase male participation with Good Grief initiatives through incorporating specific events designed to engage men.
Good Grief Weston attracted people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds (median Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) = 5; range 1-10), with 25% of attendees from IMD deciles 1 and 2 (most deprived).A diverse socioeconomic group was also represented in focus groups (median IMD = 6; range 2-10).Discourse around death and dying is often dominated by middle-class norms, 31 and little is known about the end-of-life priorities of people from lower socioeconomic groups. 7Festival attendance by people from more deprived neighbourhoods is likely to reflect the co-production approach and outreach, for example via offering participation in the forget-me-nots project at community hubs in some of WsM's poorest neighbourhoods.Hansford et al. 7 caution that public health palliative care initiatives must be deeply rooted in the communities in which they operate, to avoid inadvertently perpetuating inequality.
The proportion of survey respondents from minoritised ethnic groups, however, was lower at Good Grief Weston (5.6%) compared with the 2020 online festival (9%). 12Future local festivals should aim to improve inclusion and diversity, for example by co-producing events and activities with diverse communities, linking with faith groups and ensuring representation among facilitators. 12,32Comments from LGBTQI+ participants, who experience additional stressors in bereavement including homophobia and transphobia, failure to recognise queer relationships and additional financial and legal burdens, 33 were overwhelmingly positive, however, one participant felt one event space was not inclusive, which can inform future events.Experiences of people who were deaf, disabled or living with a long-term health condition, or were neurodivergent, were generally positive.Previous research has indicated that people with learning disabilities may require additional bereavement support due to an increased risk of secondary loss and differences in expression and communication. 34,35ere are relatively few public engagement initiatives dealing explicitly with death and bereavement, [36][37][38] and even fewer with published evaluations; those identified are all UK-based. 12,28,29,39The findings from this festival evaluation are broadly comparable to existing evidence: attendees appreciate the opportunity to discuss grief; find it helpful to share their experience; and think it is important to discuss death, dying and loss.The co-production design enabled local people to meaningfully contribute to the festival, and engendered a sense of ownership which is absent from events which are less community-led. 29In addition, the decentralisation of activity provision may have helped reduce the emotional labour demanded of facilitators described elsewhere. 28The evaluation of 'This Grief Thing' also reports the generation of connections between participants, local organisations and creative arts groups, but notes that measuring the less concrete 'ripples', such as intimate person-to-person interactions, is complex. 28ur finding that festivals could have a regenerating effect on the local area is novel among bereavement related events, although the potential for festivals to contribute to the local economy and strengthen cultural assets is well-documented. 40e reported benefits of the first online Good Grief Festival included widening access to information and support, the ability to engage from one's own home and being able to dip in and out of sessions. 12This evaluation of Good Grief Weston has shown that in-person events are effective at fostering environments in which participants can mutually support each other and connect with others.Attendees valued the informal support facilitated by the workshops and events, evidenced by the high proportion of people who talked to someone new, felt part of a likeminded community and shared or expressed their experiences.Some focus group participants who worked in bereavement services were concerned that a grief festival could cause distress and called for additional 'listening posts'.However, while there was qualitative evidence of festival attendees expressing emotion, we received no reports of harm, and participants described seeking and receiving emotional support from fellow workshop attendees.Festival events may therefore be a useful way of facilitating effective community and peer-to-peer support. 41Strengthening informal support networks can bolster communities' response to grief and bereavement, mitigating the professionalisation of grief and potentially allowing professional services to be reserved for those who need them most. 42e results of this study have several implications.The respective evaluations of Good Grief Weston (in-person) and Good Grief Festival (online) indicate that each format successfully achieved the primary aim of engaging the public on the topic of grief, bereavement and death.However, this evaluation has illustrated how each configuration has its own unique set of benefits and limitations which can be used to inform future festivals.Our findings further suggest that festivals can play an important role in public health approaches to bereavement support, connecting community members while raising awareness and increasing confidence, and therefore may contribute towards meeting the recommendations of the UK Commission on Bereavement. 43Our experience of evaluating this festival, particularly the training and support of community co-researchers to collect data, can also contribute to existing methods for assessing such interventions. 22he strengths of this study include using a mixed methods design to enable both quantitative and qualitative insight into attendee experiences. 44he festival and the evaluation were co-designed with community partners, ensuring that provision reflected the needs of the local population and that the evaluation methods were appropriate. 45he evaluation was enhanced through collaboration with community co-researchers who are embedded in and trusted members of the local community, and who were trained and paid.The study benefitted from their local knowledge and helped to build local capacity in research methods. 46Data were collected via various means to facilitate participation from a broad range of attendees (e.g.people under the age of 16 or who prefer drawing to writing).
There were limitations to this study.Only a relatively small proportion of the estimated number of people who attended the festival participated in the evaluation.The evaluation included only those who attended festival events; we did not collect data from people who were physically or emotionally unable to attend, or who only participated in community activities (e.g. the forget-menots project) prior to the festival.Moreover, attendees who felt strongly positively or negatively might have been more motivated to participate in the survey or a focus group.Two of the coresearchers involved in the evaluation were also involved in delivering festival events; participants were not told this information, however, if they were aware of it this may have biased their responses.Whilst the online survey was configured to permit only one submission per device it was technically possible for respondents to submit more than one paper survey.The lack of diversity in focus group participants is a limitation: their experiences do not reflect the range of people who attended the festival, and while they provided suggestions for increasing engagement with people from minoritised groups, men and children, they did so from the perspective of White women.Future festival design should continue to attend to co-production principles to ensure that events reflect the desires and needs of diverse local communities.Surveys, feedback cards and focus groups were available only in English, excluding those who do not speak or write in English from giving feedback.
The findings of this study highlight several priorities for future research.A recent review highlights the potential for creative health approaches to improve health outcomes and the role of culture and creativity in improving the places people live and strengthening communities. 47Further research is required to explore the role of grief festivals in system-based approaches that aim to reduce inequities towards the end of life and bereavement, and/or mitigate associated social isolation and loneliness, and the cost-effectiveness of festivals compared with other methods.Of note, several festival events were very low cost (e.g.creative community workshops, reading groups, yoga), while others built on existing community initiatives and activities (e.g. the youth theatre, bereavement café), or set up new initiatives which have had a lasting legacy (e.g.synchronised swimming group, memorial tilemaking).To inform future work, the experiences of specific groups, including people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, younger people and men, warrant further research to identify barriers toand facilitators of -engagement.
The replicability of outcomes from this festival must be tested in other UK coastal communities and beyond.The next phase of our work, also funded by the AHRC, involves collaboration with two other coastal towns in the United Kingdom to further investigate the role of cross-sector partnership, community assets and public festivals and events in mental health and wellbeing. 48urther research is required to assess whether such festivals can have lasting impacts on the attitudes of local people and whether the benefits lead to improved experiences of grief and bereavement and a reduction in inequities in this field.Methods for evaluating these complex interactions will need to be developed.

Conclusion
Good Grief Weston successfully engaged a large number of diverse people on the subject of grief and bereavement.Attendees enjoyed the experience and became more confident discussing endof-life issues.The festival facilitated mutual support between community members, with attendees reporting that they felt part of a likeminded community and citing numerous benefits for the host coastal town.Findings support the idea that festivals can engage communities and facilitate changes in attitudes towards important, yet sometimes challenging, subjects such as grief and bereavement.Festivals might also help build the capacity of coastal communities to respond to their unique health challenges by facilitating

Table 1 .
Summary of Good Grief Weston events.

Table 2 .
Demographics of survey respondents.

Table 2 .
(Continued) (Continued) journals.sagepub.com/home/pcrSenior,middleor junior managers or administrators (such as finance manager, chief executive, large business owner, office manager, retail manager, bank manager, restaurant manager, warehouse manager)7.1Smallbusiness owners who employed less than 25 people (such as corner shop owners, small plumbing companies, retail shop owners, single restaurant or cafe owners, taxi owners, garage owners) HGV, heavy goods vehicle.

Table 2 .
(Continued) Clashes with work schedules were commonly cited barriers.Others noted that timing the festival over a bank holiday weekend likely increased attendance.A small number of events were especially popular and were fully booked, leading to disappointment.As such, some survey responses called for greater capacity at events with highprofile guests.They valued the inclusion of local people in the events: But then I also think you can dip your toe in [. ..]I think it's very drop-in-able, isn't it?And I think that's what you need when you're feeling, oh, a bit anxious.(P3FG1)journals.sagepub.com/home/pcrI'ma therapist [. ..]I looked at [the programme] and thought God, I hope there's gonna be a load of counselling people that can support people 'cause this could really trigger people big time.(P8FG2)I was very much aware unfortunately that week coincides with the anniversary of my late husband's death and while I'm okay with it I know for those few days I'm a little bit needing to be withdrawn.I know how to manage it so that's why I was very careful and picked what I felt able to go to 'cause I knew I was gonna go to everything on my own so that, wasn't an issue for me but I can well understand how it could so easily trigger somebody maybe who hadn't had time to sit down and think about it.Such a great idea for Weston and community, bringing life back into this town I loved as a child for our next generation.(Surveyrespondent 164)It was important for participants that the event was run in collaboration with the community and not dominated by external actors.